National Park Service Ends Water Bottle Ban

How’s your bottle flipping?

Were you hoping to perfect your skills and flip a water bottle onto the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful and at Joshua Tree? If so, thank the Trump administration: they’ve reversed the Obama-era ban on selling water bottles at national parks.

The policy went into effect in 2011 as part of an effort to reduce the pollution in national parks and "reduce our carbon footprint." While never an actual outright ban, the measure resulted in 23 of 417 NPS sites halving their water bottle sales. Instead of the disposable plastic bottles, parks encouraged visitors to use tap water and refillable bottles.

Now, the Trump administration is bringing Crystal Geyser® back to the geysers.

"While we will continue to encourage the use of free water bottle filling stations as appropriate, ultimately it should be up to our visitors to decide how best to keep themselves and their families hydrated during a visit to a national park," said Acting National Park Service Director Michael T. Reynolds in a statement last week.

The International Bottled Water Association toasted their product over the decision: "The rescinded policy was seriously flawed," Jill Culora, the trade group's vice president of communications, said in a statement. “People coming to the parks that banned the sale of bottled water were still allowed to buy other less healthy beverages - including carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, teas, milk, beer and wine - that are packaged in much heavier plastic, glass, cans and cardboard containers."

Critics, like EcoWatch, however, have pointed out that "the repeal comes weeks after the Senate confirmation of David Bernhardt as deputy interior secretary—whose involvement included his prior law firms' work on behalf of one of the largest single use plastic water bottlers in the U.S." And, as Business Insider noted, “The bottled water and beverage industry have previously lobbied aggressively to keep bottled water at U.S. national parks.”

The Sierra Club’s public lands policy director, Athan Manuel, released a statement saying that the "actions that roll back protections on our National Parks and public lands only move our country backward—putting the importance of local economies, wildlife and communities on the back burner."

The National Park Service, however, said in its statement that the ban’s repeal will "expand hydration options for recreationalists, hikers, and other visitors to national parks."

Imagine it’s a game of spin the bottle: who do you hope the bottle lands on (besides your crush)? Should the National Parks pair with the environment? Or should the bottle land on consumer choice? Hit the Take Action button, tell your reps, then show off your verbal bottle flipping (or finger-flipping) skills below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: kazoka30 via iStockphoto)